Innocent Sinner
by Forever Fearless
Summary: L was at a loss as he towered over the body of a small girl. Her back was chared from an ongoing fire that was caused by an explosion. What was she doing there? Where were her parents? And most of all, was she still alive?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of the characters from Death Note.

August 15, 2011

Innocent Sinner

She could hear the silence in the screaming. The voices echoed so loudly that anything important fell on deaf ears.

"This is so awesome!" she cheered. Her unlucky companion rolled his eyes. "Green Day, ugh," he looked around. The teenage girl jumped up and down and cheered her head off before she felt the stinging sensation on the back of her neck.

"Mello," she blacked out. Mello made haste to catch his collapsing acquaintance. He called for back-up with his wrist talky and began carrying her towards the closest exit. L and Near met him shortly.

"What's the situation?" Near asked. Just after looking at her L demanded, "we need to get her back to Wammy's house."

Four men were following them. Watari pulled up in front of them. They jumped in the limousine and Watari stepped on it.

"She's going to be so pissed when she wakes up." L checked her over. "I feel as though her life is more important than a Green Day concert." Near sat by the furthest window.

"What happened?"

"From the looks of things it seems she was tranquilized," L said, looking at the red mark on the side of her neck.

"Who would be after a 19 year old orphaned girl?" Mello scoffed.

"Who knows? She's not much of a talker at Wammy's house," L thought aloud.

"You've talked to her the most," Near commented. "She's never talked to you about personal matters? Not even once?"

"Enough," L stated. "Maybe it wasn't meant for her. Right now, her health is more important. Getting her back to Wammy's House is more important.

The car remained silent the entire time it made its journey home; even then none of the boys spoke to each other. L carried Athena to her bedroom and left her to her forced slumber.

A few hours later, when she finally woke, she felt the effects of the tranquilizer wear off completely. She sat up to observe the room she was in; she was relieved to find it was her own.

"Oh no, the others," she whispered. After whipping back the sheets she rushed to the hallways. "Mello, Near, L!" she shouted. Other members of the household looked at her funny. "Please be," she paused as she walked into their usual study. "All right," she finished when her eyes landed on them. They all sat gathered around a table. They saw her, but without a word she turned and left. L was the only one to go after her.

"Athena, wait!" he called.

"I don't have time, L," she kept walking.

"I want to speak with you."

"I'm leaving Wammy's House," she informed as she made it back to her bedroom.

"Absolutely not," he shoved her lightly into the wall. He pinned her there. "You listen to me," he looked down at her. "These people after you cannot get you here. You're well protected. I'll take it upon myself to keep you safe and help arrest your attackers."

"You can't. You're leaving for American grounds in two days. Who knows how long this will take."

"I'll give that case to Mello and Near."

"You don't know anything about me. How can you know I don't deserve-"

"You've been here since you were seven years old. What could you possibly have done?"

"Things you can't even imagine…" she whispered and let her thoughts wonder back to past events.

Athena sat in the middle of the room with each of her shoulders against one of her parents. Ropes bound them to their chairs. "Mommy, what's going on? I'm scared," she whimpered. Four men in the room laughed at her.

"What do you want with us?" Her father spoke up. One of the men punched him in the face.

"No, stop it!" Athena's mother screamed.

"Shut up, bitch!" Another man slapped her. Athena began to cry as two of the men untied her mother and dragged her into a side room.

"Mommy!" she screamed.

"Shelia!"

"Roy!" her parents shouted. The door to the side room slammed shut as her father was struck in the face again.

"No! Stop it! Stop it!" the small girl screeched at the top of her lungs. Her mother's screams of agony could be heard a mile away; to Athena it was an endless echo. A few minutes later her mother's half naked body was tossed back into the room, hitting the hardwood floor.

"No! Mommy!" Athena cried weakly in a daring, victorious, attempt to free herself from her bounds. She had almost made it to her mother when a gun was fired. Blood drops landed on the little girls face and arms. She watched her mom's body shake as blood began to pool around her on the floor. At a standstill she heard another shot fired, and from where she was, she knew it was the end of her father as well. She was so numb that tears wouldn't be shed again for a long, long time.

"Come on, kid," one of the men drew closer to her. She'd seen so much in a matter of minutes. Now, it was her turn. Live or die. She chose to live. With courage she didn't know she possessed, she pulled a gun from the approaching man's hoister; shot him, and turned to the other three. One by one she killed them.

With one round left she paused to examine the room. She searched the nearby boxes. Some of them contained cans of gasoline while others had sticks of dynamite. She used the gasoline to blanket the inside of the building. With the gun barrel close to the floor, she used her last shot as an igniter. Flames engulfed every inch of the place, including the bodies of her parents. Without sparing another glance, she walked away from the small structure; a bag of dynamite in hand.

People were running around everywhere outside. They looked like soldiers, but she didn't care who they were. They were part of the drug trade organization. Dozens of little sheds, similar to the one she had previously been trapped in, lined the main warehouse. As stealthy as she could, she snuck into one of the other smaller buildings. Inside were more weapons and ammunition. Her knowledge of weapons was limited, so instead of looking for guns and bullets, she went for the time bombs. After picking one up she dropped the bad of dynamite.

"Sets like an alarm clock," she examined the device. She took a few of them and snuck back outside. Men were dousing the fire she'd started earlier.

"Where is the bad man?" Quietly, she crept around until she found a window that showed a vast portion of the inside of the main building. That's where she found him. It was difficult to be absolutely positive, but from where she was, it looked like him. He was shouting at his men. "That has to be him," she whispered. She pressed a few buttons on three of the time bombs before throwing them into the building.

She ran at this point; like a bat out of hell, away from the compound. When the building blew, she wasn't far enough away. The heat and force of the explosion pushed her body into the ground. Flames licked at her back and pain overran her small form. As she lied in a crumpled heap of bruised, bleeding flesh she thought, "at least I died after my revenge." She shivered; her fingers clenching. "Mommy. Daddy…" she whispered, blacking out.

A few hours later a boy calling for his dog was nearly drowned out by the sound of fire trucks and a crowd of people who had gathered to see the fire.

"Narin!" he shouted. "Narin! Come here boy!" The dog barked, but didn't wait up for the boy. "Narin!" he huffed, stopping next to the dog. "What's that boy? He crouched down. He gasped. "Watari! Come quickly!"

An older man was by the boy in an instant. "Oh my," he examined the girl. "She needs medical help," the young man shook his elders arm. "Definitely, come on," Watari picked her up gently. Athena was rushed to the hospital. Regardless of Watari's inability to answer any of the background information, they treated her. A large percent of her back was burned as well as a considerable amount of hair. Bruises and lacerations littered her body in various places. The doctor says she will make a full recovery.

"What will happen to the pretty girl, Watari?"

"Well, L, no one has responded to the missing child article, so we can put her into foster care."

"At Wammy's House?" he smiled hopefully. "L, you know that Wammy's House is for-"

"Please, Watari?" The old man had to smile at him. "Why don't you go see her? The doctor said she should be able to leave soon." L jumped at the chance to see her. It had been four days. As soon as he walked into the room he ran to her bedside. He must've waited for an hour before she began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened; for the first time L had seen, and a loud groan emitted from her.

"Hi there," the boy said. The little girl blinked at him. "My name is," he hesitated, "my name is, L." Familiar white walls greeted her as she looked around. This wasn't the first time she'd woken. In fact, she'd awoken a few times while the young boy had come to see her; he was always sleeping.

"Why are you here?" she spoke quietly. It was L's turn to be puzzled. "I found you. Well, I mean, Narin, my dog, found you. You were hurt very badly."

"The building is gone?" she questioned. L looked intrigued.

"Many deceased bodies were found at the fire. I'm glad yours is not one of them." Athena didn't know how to respond to that, so instead she sat up with her legs crossed and hands resting in her lap. L sat on the edge of her bed. She examined herself silently and thoroughly. Most of her bruises were vanishing and the lacerations seem to be healing quite quickly, but she and L both knew him that the scar tissue on her back would never go away.

"Girl whose name I do not know, would you like a piece of candy?" he offered her a gold wrapped caramel. Slowly she reached for it, her hesitant hands not agreeing with her eyes, when she finally took it from him, she blushed.

"My name is Athena."

Athena was brought back to the real world when L shook her shoulders. "Are you okay?" he'd asked.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"You were seven years old. Thirteen years have gone by and you've never breathed a word to me about where you came from. You don't have to tell me, but you also do not have to leave Wammy's House."

"I'm sorry, L. I can't risk putting the children, all of you in danger. There are too many unknown factors," she tried to change the subject.

"She's right, L. She can't stay," Watari said sadly from the doorway. L's face contorted into a few different expressions before he moved away from Athena. "Pack your things then. You're coming to America with me."

"What?"

"Just do as I say. I don't want to further upset you." Both L and Watari left her alone to prepare.

Slowly she sank to the floor. He was always there. It was beyond comprehension to her. For whatever reason, he always came to her aid; even if she didn't want his help. She sighed and began the task of rummaging through her clothes, thinking about the past as she did so.

When she first came to Wammy's House she didn't speak to anyone if she didn't have too. L had tried to get her to open up to him, but the occasion for having a conversation with him was always a slim window. L was two years older than she, so of course they attended the same school for a while, until high school. Being at Wammy's House meant you had to be extremely smart or gifted. She was neither, in her opinion, but she never let herself dwell on the matter. Both she and L were investigators, however, their areas of expertise were different. L was good at the whole game. She, on the other hand, specialized in photographic imaging.

She knew that L was more than capable of handling himself and although she didn't want to handle the situation alone, she just didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of her; especially her friends at Wammy's House.

Would they find her in the United States? She highly doubted it. L would protect her as best he could. The question that puzzled her though was: "Who is after me exactly?"

Well, there's chapter one! I'm doing this one in chapters because I'd like to see more reviews, hopefully. They're very much appreciated. XD Let me know what you think!

Thanks!

Forever Fearless.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own any of the Death Note characters. Athena is mine though.

**Chapter 2**

America was crawling with people. For now, the hotel room L booked was one room with two beds. He would get better accommodations when he could, which in his case, probably meant the next day. He was the "get set-up as fast as possible" kind of guy.

"L, it's raining," she gave him a half smile from her place on the windows ledge.

"Do you remember that time on the playground?" He couldn't help the slight pull on the corners of his lips. "You were so muddy that day," he thought back.

L watched as an eleven year old Athena ran around, playing by herself, on the playground. He made sure to keep out of sight. He knew she enjoyed playing by herself. She had just made it to the top of the slide when the sky broke open. A heavy shower fell on her. She took shelter inside the plastic tunnel as best she could, but unfortunately, the water lubricated the walls. All traction was lost at this point, and down the slide she went. Waiting at the bottom was a giant mud pit that welcomed her with sludgy surprise. Her hair was caked and matted.

"You okay?" L made himself known. She shook her head 'no' as silence built between them. "Come on," he picked her up.

"I lost my footing. I didn't think the angle of the slide was that acute," she rambled on.

"Are you injured?" he avoided the subject. Her eyes wondered to his dark and shadowy ones.

"My arm hurts a little, but I'm okay," she starred. With swift hands, L removed a clump of mud from one of her cheeks. "Next time make sure someone is outside with you. You could've gotten seriously injured," he scolded playfully.

Like the child she was, she stuck her tongue out at him. "I can't get hurt too badly when I've got you around to protect me." He could do nothing else but smile.

"Uh, L?" Athena poked him gently in the chest. L's eyes landed on her as he broke free from the memory. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. Why don't we get something to eat?" Athena bit her lip. "Yeah, sounds good."

L led her downstairs to the café. "So, what will I be doing while you're working on the case?"

"I've enrolled you into a local college where you can study abroad."

"Really? But who's paying for it?"

"I am, of course," he looked at her with seriousness.

"That's really not necessary. You can't keep doing this, L," she leaned over the table angrily.

"Doing what, Athena? Looking after you?"

"I'm an adult. Why won't you let me act like one?" she said in a low tone and stormed away from him. L sighed as he watched her go. It reminded him of a time, a week or so after he and Watari brought her home to Wammy's House. He remembered that Mello had done nothing but complain about her not being a 'gifted' child and that they welcomed her to the orphanage anyways. Mello is the same age as her. In fact, he sported a severe burn on his face from, what he claims, his chemistry set exploding. Similarities between the two young people aside, Mello had confronted her about living at Wammy's House and questioned her, like a bully. L had tried to explain to Mello, in front of her, that what he was doing was wrong, but instead of thanking him for it, she yelled at him.

"I can take care of myself!" she'd shouted and strode off.

He sighed at the thought again. Once he gathered up their food in a small bag, he made his way back to their room. Once he rounded the corner on the floor that their room was on, he saw Athena and a man shuffling in the hall.

"Athena?" he dropped the bag. To his surprise she man-handled the guy. With little effort she tossed him over her shoulder and onto his back.

"If you ever so much as look at me again, you dirty pervert, I swear I'll do much worse to you. The next time someone says no, you better listen!"

L looked on in disbelief. "Would you please let us in already?" she huffed. He knew better than to mess with a woman's wrath and quickly unlocked the door after retrieving the dropped bag. She booked it inside.

"Listen, I'm sorry," she apologized first. As a peace offering, he held up the bag of food with a smile. "Just eat, okay?" he handed it to her. She grinned and took the bag from him, but not before giving him a light punch in the arm. "Thanks, L." They ate and called it a night.

The following day they were both up by nine. They were moving to an apartment that was closer to the college and more than likely closer to the case. The apartment was small, with one bedroom, bath, living room, and kitchen. It was still nice though. L would use the living room area as the tech station. There were five monitors set up when they arrived. Athena didn't make a fuss over having to sleep in the same bedroom. It would only be a pointless argument and she was tired of fighting with L. All he ever did was care for her. She knew he didn't deserve it.

"Athena," he interrupted her train of thought.

"Yeah, L?" she looked at him.

"You're probably upset about not having your own bedroom again, but I want you to know-"

"It's okay. You don't sleep much," she set down a box of cake, "although, you should feel free to use it. I don't mind sharing." L nodded in response.

After everything was unpacked and set up, they sat down to have tea with each other.

"Do you think they'll find me here?" she asked with her gaze towards the door.

"Do you feel safe with me?" She was caught off-guard by the question.

"I always do."

"Then even if they do I won't let anything bad happen to you."

She laughed. "Honestly, I think the worst has already happened, but it's you I'm worried about. Not me," she finished sincerely.

"You know, I'm sorry, Athena," he avoided her concern for him.

"Don't be. If none of that would have happened then I wouldn't have met you. I wish every day that I could undo what happened, that I could erase all of the horrible images in my mind, but that day, life for me ended and began. I know I've always been a quiet kid, but I've loved growing up with you and the others. Please don't think I'm upset. Is that what you think?"

"I suspected. It couldn't have been easy for you. I keep thinking that you hate me for bringing you to Wammy's House. I'm glad you don't."

She laughed heartedly, "One day I'll be brave enough to tell you what happened, but I could never hate you."

"Hmmn," he agreed.

"So," she twirled the spoon in her tea cup. "What are my classes that I'll be studying?"

"Ah! I'm glad you asked. Considering your art skills, I've placed you in an art class, photography, ancient literature and a biology class."

"That sounds great. Will I be attending these classes alone?"

"I hope you enjoy them. There's about a three percent chance that something would happen to you in broad daylight and those odds are low, so you will be attending all but the photography class alone. I figured there's no reason I couldn't brush up on it. You were always better at photo taking. I could use some help."

"I can help as best I can too, for now though, I'm going to get a shower and head to bed. Goodnight." Silently she departed the room, head in a completely different place than here, and L suspected.

Her first few weeks of class were uneventful. L munched on candy beside her in their photography class. He made it obvious that he didn't want to share. When they both made it back to the apartment she began making dinner while L went to do research. After a short period of time, L came into the kitchen for ice-cream only to notice the delicious scent of roasted chicken.

"Uh, since when did you learn to cook meals like this?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Despite what everyone thinks, I didn't live in my room. In fact, there are many things you don't know about, I bet," she grinned.

"So, you prepared meals at Wammy's House?"

"I don't tell you everything; not that you were ever around much to talk to. It's not really a big deal," she said as she sliced potatoes.

"It's not like you tell me anything even when I ask," he mumbled under his breath. "I'm just surprised you were out of my sight that long." Athena never heard him.

A few seconds passed in silence before L said, like it had only dawned on him just now, "I was gone a lot wasn't I?"

"A lot?" Athena snorted. "L, you were gone three weeks out of every month practically. And, when you were home, you were always creeping around the house like…well, point being, I hardly ever got to see you. Hell, Mello knows more about me than you do," she laughed.

"I made up for it, didn't I? And, Mello did a lot of at-home cases. I can't control criminal outbreaks across the world," he said sadly. "It's not like I didn't want to see you."

Athena filled the pot of sliced potatoes with water and placed it on the stovetop. "I guess you made up for it. You never forgot to send me a birthday card if you were gone. Then, there was that one summer you were home for the whole month. You took me to the fair with the boys," she smiled.

"We also bought a trampoline," L grinned.

"Oh yeah! You and Mellow put it next to the pool outside. You guys thought it'd be fun to jump from the tree-house, onto the trampoline, and then into the pool. Watari thought one of you were going to break something," she giggled.

"They were better times back then," L sighed.

Athena cleared her throat as the happy memories dispersed. "Supper will be done in about an hour or so, so do you think it would be okay if I made a quick trip to the store?"

"You can if I do."

"I'll be okay, L. Please," she begged. "It's only a block away. You can watch me on the cameras most of the way. Besides, you let me go to three classes without your supervision. What makes this any different?"

L fought mentally with himself. Going to a super market wasn't exactly like waltzing around on a college campus. The day life was different and so were the people.

"Fine, go. You must be careful."

"Thanks," she left. He worried the entire time.

Athena took her time. Really, she just wanted some time to think, away from his eyes. He was always watching. He cared about her. That was obvious; she just wasn't sure of in what way. Mostly, he was more fatherly to her. Of course she cared about him too. The only thing was, her feelings were more of a loving kind, but she tried to pretend they didn't exist by forcing everything she felt into the apex of her heart. The more she'd think about it the more it drove her crazy. But, sometimes it was just so hard to ignore. In fact, that's why she did all those things at Wammy's House. Growing up, she learned to cook in secret because she thought that having secrets would impress L. L also didn't know that she had taken karate classes. L spent so much time studying and burying himself in his work that when he wasn't around her she was gorging herself in the daily duties of a young lady.

During her quest to the grocery store she decided it would be wise to make an actual purchase of something, otherwise he'd get suspicious. So, with a sigh and nothing planned for dessert and many options to choose from she eventually settled on making him a cheesecake. After all, the man ate everything she could think of that contained sugar.

L was waiting at the door when she returned. Before he could even ask, she announced, "I'm okay." He took the bags from her and followed her to the kitchen. She checked on the chicken, noticing a pot of boiling water on top of the stove that she hadn't put there.

"Did you want to help me?" she asked hopefully. He was always too busy to spend much personal time with her, so she enjoyed the few times that it had actually occurred.

"I," he examined the room. "I would like to." She couldn't hide her smile. "Great."

They worked together perfectly and when they sat down to eat; smiles of satisfaction were evident on their faces. When they finished they both did the dishes.

"You know," he started, drying off a plate. "I'm sorry I'm so protective of you."

"I've been curious about that," she turned the water off. "Tell me why."

He set the last of the dishes down and leaned against the sink with his head down.

"Hey," Athena stood in front of him. Her eyes searched his face as she lifted his chin to make eye contact. "L, it's not that big of a deal, just-"

"How do you feel about me?" he interrupted. Now she was the one who was tense. She let her hand fall away from his face while her brain tried to create words. She was determined to tell him the truth.

"I-I'm very fond of you. I have been since I was little. I try not to act on any of the feelings I have because I know that they're just- I know that they won't make a difference. Lying to you wouldn't make a difference either," she stood bravely in front of him. All he could do was stare into her eyes, searching for answers. When he leaned forward and hugged her, she was surprised.

"I'm happy to hear that. I understand how difficult it is," he pulled away. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. He'd just step on all of the pieces she'd tried to put together by acting like it was no big deal.

"I thought you might say something like that," she walked away. "Goodnight."

"I can't explain right now, but-"

"It's okay, L," she disappeared into the living room. "You can have the bed," was the last thing she'd said.

L sat on her bed for hours thinking about what had just happened. The look on her face betrayed her words.

"L?" Athena poked her head into the room suddenly. The moonlight lit enough of the room for her to make it to the bed safely. He watched her sit down and pull her knees to her chest. He could hear the unfamiliar sound of sniffling.

"I'm not good at comforting others," he said, moving closer to her, "but I can listen to whatever you have to say."

Athena crawled into his lap unexpectedly like a child and bawled her eyes out. L was at a loss, but instead of reacting like his brain wanted, he reacted on instinct. Gently he placed one hand on her back and the other on her head; leaning back against the headboard as he did so. Because of his movements, she was now laying her head on top of his chest. He stroked her hair lightly.

"I'm sorry, Athena." He could feel her head move from side to side. "It's not you," she spoke quietly. "At least not entirely. I just miss my parents so much and I'm tired of being alone all of the time. I was seven years old. What did I do to piss God off so badly?"

There was silence before L decided to speak. "Do you want to tell me about it?" She nodded slowly against his chest.

"The family's name was Discadi. Jose was the father and Tyson, his son, were two of the biggest drug trade leaders in the country at the time. My parents, who were working on the case, had enough evidence to put Tyson away for life, but the day my parents were supposed to appear in court was the day my house was infiltrated. They drugged all three of us. When I woke up we were tied to chairs inside a storage building. There were four men gathered around us. Two of them raped and beat my mother before shooting her, and then they shot my dad. I was so scared, but I was able to break free from my bonds because I was so small, and somehow I managed to obtain a gun from one of the men. I shot all of them prior to setting the shack on fire. I burned the last memory I held of my parents. From there I ventured to a similar building like the one I awoke in. Inside I found time bombs. Of course, being a little kid, I didn't know exactly how they worked, but I knew enough. I found a window to the main warehouse, eventually, and I thought I saw Tyson Discadi inside. I had only seen his face a few times. Mom and Dad had photos of him and Jose all over their desk during their investigation. My initial reaction was to kill him. I tossed a few bombs into the building and ran as fast as I could to escape the impact of the blast. That's where you found me, I believe."

"I had no idea, Athena. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't want anyone to know what I had done. What I had been through." He tightened his hold on her. "I thought for the longest time that maybe your parents had beaten and abandoned you. I never expected this. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah," she whispered sleepily. "What is it?" He leaned forward to hear her better.

"Stop being so protective…" she drifted to sleep. L scoffed lightly. "That's certainly not going to happen now." He took this chance to kiss the top of her head. He'd do anything for her.

* * *

><p>There's chapter 2 everyone! The next few chapters I'm going to throw in some character conflict. Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you!<p>

-Forever Fearless


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own any of the characters from Death Note.

**Chapter 3**

When morning came Athena snuck from the room to prepare for school. Things were a little awkward for her, but L acted as though nothing happened. It was the more mature thing to do.

"L, are you actually completing any of the assignments for our photography class?"

"No," he answered shortly. She frowned as they both exited the front door of the apartment. "It's been a few months now. My portfolio is so…choppy," she said more to herself. He left her to think in silence as they entered the large classroom. Shortly after, the professor waltzed into the room nonchalantly.

"Okay," the short, woman instructor announced. "Portfolio time!" As she started around the room L suddenly withdrew an album from somewhere on his person.

"What? I thought you-Hey!" Athena pouted.

"Ryuzaki, let's see it," the teacher patted the table. Athena was dumbstruck from page one. From a young age, she knew L was secretive and clever, but to have been able to take so many photos of her without her knowing?

Most of them were from when she was younger. She was playing on a swing-set on the playground, picking flowers in the summer time, sad photos of her starring out of the Wammy House window, caked in mud, and her high school graduation. There were so many she couldn't speak. That was, of course, until Ms. Spike asked for hers. The grin on the young girls face hadn't gone unnoticed. L was embarrassed to say the least. There were pictures of L of all ages. In the very first photo, he was shoving his face with Swedish chocolates. It was smeared all over his face. A few others she had were of him picking his nose and tripping over the long jeans he wore.

"Did the two of you grow up together?" the professor smiled as the two young adults blushed. "A's for the both of you. Great job," she praised and walked to her next victim.

"You little liar!" Athena whispered harshly. "I didn't lie. I've had this photo album for many years. Besides, I didn't think you'd see it," he whispered back, an embarrassed tone evident in his voice.

"Oh yeah? And just when did you plan on telling me you had snap-shots of me throughout my childhood?"

"Don't blame me. Beauty shouldn't be kept to one's self," he remarked.

"You know what? You're officially creepy!"

"Don't call me creepy. You took all of those pictures of me too," he retorted like a child. Athena ran out of the room laughing. "Come back here. You owe me an explanation!" A small bright blue piece of paper posted on the wall caught her eyes. "Winter Dance," she read and then frowned. L would never let her go. She scoffed at the thought. "I'm going whether he likes it or not."

"Athena, come back here!"

"Haha, no chance!" she booked it again. She was too busy laughing to notice the backpack leaning against the wall. She tumbled to the ground. With a groan, she rolled onto her back.

"Are you okay?" A blonde boy kneeled beside her.

"Uhh, yeah, I think so," she rubbed her cheek and elbows.

"You should be careful where you walk. You don't want to hit your head." Athena laughed nervously at him. "I'm Trevor, by the way."

"I'm, Athena. It's nice to meet you."

"Come on, let me help you up," he stood and pulled her up with him. With a blush of embarrassment, she straightened her clothes and plastered a smile on her face.

"Athena, is everything all right?" L caught up to her.

"Yes, everything is fine, Ryuzaki. I was just thanking Trevor for helping me up."

"It's no problem, but I should get going. I've got another class in ten minutes and it's all the way across campus," he smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry for holding you up."

"It's cool. Catch ya later!" the boy picked up his backpack and went on his way.

"Did you fall?" L asked.

"I'm fine. I'll see you later." Athena left with a smile on her face.

"What the hell just happened?" he scowled after her.

A week later it was the day before Thanksgiving and Athena wasn't prepared for it.

"L!" she shouted from the kitchen. She'd just finished making a list of things she would need for the following day.

"Something wrong?" he asked in a melodramatic tone.

"I want to celebrate Thanksgiving if it's okay with you?"

"I'd enjoy that actually. In fact, how about all of the holidays?"

"Do you mean it?" her excitement was apparent.

"I don't see the harm in it. Why not?"

"Oh! Thank you!" she kissed his cheek abruptly. "Let's get to the store before it closes!"

"Right," he trailed after her as she practically ran from the apartment. The sensation on his cheek was nothing but a faint feeling of warmth now.

She couldn't stop smiling as she tossed things into her shopping cart. "Pumpkin pie is pretty good, yeah?"

"I've grown accustomed to your foods over the years, apparently, without my knowledge. Whatever you want to make I will try."

"Do you want anything special for tomorrow?"

"You've done enough already. Nothing comes to mind." She was confused by his statement, but the sooner she got home, the better. The excitement was killing her.

It was nearly six o clock at night, but she decided to start some of the things anyways. Not long after she started she was covered in flower. In the background she heard a clicking sound.

"L?" she growled. There was a flash of light. He was taking pictures. "Stop it!" she shouted. She was rolling the pie dough to make crust. The filling she'd made while the dough had chilled.

"Moments like this are worth photographing," he snapped another. "Why don't you do something constructive, like help me?"

"Okay, he set his camera on a clean counter top. "What should I do?"

"Take this," she handed him the wax paper and previously rolled out crust, "and put it in one of the pie pans." She set three pans on the island and removed the other two flat crusts from the fridge. She pulled the top piece of wax paper from the dough before flipping it onto the pan. L imitated these actions.

After forming the dough to the pan and cutting the excess, she used her thumbs and index fingers to make a 'U' shape design around the edges with the dough. When she was finished, she looked to see how L was doing.

"Uh…" she couldn't help but laugh. They were so space out or too big. It would hold though. "It's not perfect, but-" he stopped. "It's fine. Come here and I'll show you," she beckoned him towards her.

He hesitated at first. "I'm not going to throw it at you or anything," she assured him. Eventually he moved next to her. She set the last pan up. "Kay, hold your hands up like this." He did as she directed. Gently, she took his hands in hers and manipulated his hands to create the design. The entire time he had goose bumps. An innocent action made his brain slow down and his heart speed up.

"See, you did great that time," she grinned, removing her hands from his. He stood there silently.

"You okay?" she looked up at him curiously.

"Do you remember that time when you had to go to the hospital? Those kids from your high school gym class pushed you down the stairs."

"I was a freshman. They picked on me a long time before that happened. What's got you thinking about that?"

"I had them arrested that same day. It happened around this holiday is all."

"You're so weird. I don't let those things bother me. I appreciate your help though."

L sighed, "Am I that hard to read?"

She frowned. "No, but I think there's a silent agreement that nothing but solving those cases is important right now. There's just too much going on."

"Of course," he agreed.

"Not to brush you off, but would you mind keeping an eye on the pies? I'd like to get a shower so I can get started early tomorrow."

He nodded in response and she retreated from the kitchen with a skip in her step. The gears in his head worked so fast that he felt like time was flying by so quickly; that he was going to lose her. He didn't want to tell her, but he'd solved the other cases a few weeks back and had the people in jail already. At this point he didn't think it was safe to return to Wammy's House. He wasn't sure Watari would let her back either. Another thing was, there was no record of Tyson Discadi's body found at the scene of the drug trade explosion. If he were still alive, he'd be forty-seven, but what were the chances he'd know Athena was still alive? She was so young when everything happened. How could he possibly know she survived the explosion? One thing was for sure, her case was his first priority now.

Athena let the hot beads of water rain down on her exhausted body. "Not a damn thing makes sense," she huffed. "How could anyone have known that I survived that fire? More importantly, how did they ever find me?" Her thoughts drifted elsewhere now. 'If it wasn't for all of this case stuff and me, L and I could go home. And L has to be close to three thousand cases. He can do as he pleases when he reaches that many. Why is everything always so complicated,' she sighed. Having spent enough time wasting water, she washed the shampoo from her hair and stepped from the steamy comfort. As she wrapped a towel around herself, she screeched in fear.

"L!" she screamed.

"Athena! What's wrong?" He burst into the bathroom.

"Get your nasty spider out of our bathroom!" she demanded. "But I don't have a spider," he looked at the tarantula. "Tarantulas don't just crawl around this side of the U.S. –Doesn't matter! Just get it out!"

"Alright, alright." He looked around the room for something to trap it in. Just then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get the door. You get the spider!" she scampered out of the room. When she reached the front door, she whined in realization. She was in only a towel. Against her better judgment she opened the door.

"Uh, hi," she greeted.

"Oh, hey, Athena! I'm sorry to bother you so late. It's just that I live on the same floor and I lost my pet-"

"Spider?" she finished for him.

"Yes, how'd you know?" At that moment, L came to meet their guest. "I believe this belongs to you," L held the spider out toward him.

"Hopper!" the young man exclaimed. "How'd you get way over here?" L and Athena stared. "I'm sorry. I'm Trevor," he introduced himself to L. "His cage lid must've popped off."

"I'm Ryuzaki. You were the boy who helped Athena, right?"

"Yeah, sorry I had to take off so quickly last time."

L looked at him suspiciously. "It's fine. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," he gave a short nod. "So, anyway, sorry again about Hopper. I'll make sure I keep better track of him next time. Have a good night."

Athena's face flushed once she noticed her attire once more.

"Check the pies, Ryuzaki," she slammed the door shut and ran to her bedroom.

L shrugged and removed the finished pies from the oven. He couldn't wait till morning./body

* * *

><p>That's chapter 3! And for those of you who are continuing to read this story, my apologies for chapter update delays. I work at a hospital, so it's difficult to find the time to edit. I have the entire story written already, editing is just very time consuming. Thank you for your patience. Stay tuned for chapter 4!<p>

-Forever Fearless


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own any of the Death Note characters.**

**Chapter 4:**

Thanksgiving Day came sooner than Athena was ready for, but she was excited nonetheless. She was in the kitchen stuffing a turkey at the moment whereas L was doing some more research on her case. She was sure to be in the kitchen for most, if not all day.

"Athena," he snuck up on her a few hours later. Everything about the Discadi family was true. Drug trading was investigated and documented in the United States as well as parts of Europe. The file he found also stated that the Rain family, Athena's family, who was prosecuting the Discadi family, was found dead at the drug trade compound back home. The daughter's body was never found. Her body. Unfortunately, for her, it wasn't Tyson Discadi she saw that night at the warehouse. It was Jose. Tyson was still alive and in hiding; probably looking for revenge.

"Something wrong?" she looked over at him. She was so innocent, even if she did cause that fire. She was a seven year old who knew no other way to protect herself.

"Everything is fine. It smells delicious."

"Oh you. You're such a bottomless pit; especially when it comes to sweets. I bet you can't wait to sink your teeth into that pie," she laughed. "Anyway, don't you have some work you should be doing?"

"Yeah, it's called helping you." He tucked long strands of hair behind her ear. "You want to help? Then stop being distracting!"

"I'm distracting? If I do say, you're the one prancing around the apartment and creating lovely smells, and looking so-" he smirked down at her.

"L?"

"It's so hard to believe your childhood was so dark. You turned out just fine," he frowned.

"You helped me through a lot even though it was so seldom that I got to see you. I have no one but you to thank."

"Hmm, well then, what can I help you with?" She poked him in the ribs playfully. "You can get me a cup of brown sugar."

"As you wish," he bowed dramatically.

The day went by quickly as the two of them played around in the kitchen. When 5 o'clock came around, Athena excitedly removed the bird from the over and set in on the table.

"Let's dig in!" One by one she put scoops of everything she made on their plates. L cut the turkey.

"So, I was wondering, what would you like for Christmas?" she asked between bites. "That's a good question," he pondered. "I've wanted a watch as of late."

"Just a watch?" she rose an eyebrow. "Yes. If I think of something else, I'll let you know. What about you?" She got a little tense and stood with her empty plate.

"Well, it's kind of far-fetched," she smiled sheepishly, setting her dish in the dishwasher. He helped her clean the table off as she began putting left-overs away.

"Come on. Just tell me." He was going to blow his top if she asked, but she wanted it. "I want to go to the winter ball." He had just finished rinsing the last few dished.

"Absolutely not."

"Please, L?"

"No, Athena. It's too dangerous."

"There will be plenty of people there. Please?" she begged him now.

"There will also be many cameras and interviews too. I can't risk your life being jeopardized because of an insignificant dance."

"You never let me do anything," she escaped to the bathroom with an angry huff.

"Open the door, Athena," he pounded. "You can't hide every time I tell you 'no'."

"Leave me alone. You don't care about me. You only care about keeping me alive to keep the Wammy's House name in good light. You think I don't know the truth…" She looked at her face in the mirror. Tears threatened to fall. She had never cried over something that didn't pertain to her family. She'd be damned if she was going to start crying now. Enraged, she punched at her reflection.

"Athena, open this door right now!" Blood trickled down her arm in small streams. Silently she watched herself bleed before L barged in. It was as though every drop that splashed against the porcelain sink signified the amount of time she had left with him. Everything she did turned into one big argument with him. Was freedom to do as she pleased too much to ask?

"What are you doing?" he rushed her to sit down on the edge on the bathtub. He fumbled around with the first aid kit until he found everything he needed. He forced her to rinse her hand with warm water and then lightly pat-dried her off. After that, he poured peroxide down the entirety of her forearm and hand. "How could you be so stupid?" He lectured.

"How can you be so stupid?" she repeated. L was putting dressings on her wounds now. "Athena, I'm not your parent. I'm not trying to punish you. And, I'm certainly not keeping you alive for Wammy's House's sake. You can't honestly believe that?" She didn't look at him. "I care about you more than I could probably ever express. If something happened to you because of a choice I made, I could never forgive myself." She sat blankly for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

"It's forgotten. No more scaring me like that," he led her to their bedroom. The gears in her head were turning as she lied down. Maybe freedom was too big of a price, for either of them, she realized. '_If something happens to me, I would be putting L's life in danger too, and I don't want that. But, it's never choices you make, L. They're mine,' she looked over towards him, her eyes drifting close. _

* * *

><p>There's chapter 4! I know it's short, but at least I updated faster this time. I'm debating on tweaking the plot in the next chapter (that's why this one is so short). Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know how I'm doing! Thanks everyone!<p>

-Forever Fearless


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own any of the Death Note characters.

**Chapter 5**

A few weeks had gone by since the bathroom incident. Christmas was approaching faster than she thought it would, but that also meant the winter ball was too. It was tomorrow actually. It was now that she snuck off to the mall. L had a class for another hour. She had gone in search for two things: a gift for L and a dress.

Even now she was still slightly pissed at him; she knew he meant the best. It was just frustrating to keep seeing him act like a parent when she wanted him to act as…something else. He said he cared deeply for her, but heart ached at the thought of it being paternally.

She made it through a few stores, yet to find anything, until finally she spotted the perfect watch for him. The base of the watch was round with a black wrist strap and analog numbers. The metal used was white gold. "It's perfect," she whispered. _'I can pass on finding a dress if I get him this watch,' _she thought unselfishly.

"Hello there, can I help you with anything today, Miss?" The sales clerk offered. "Yes actually. I'd like to buy that watch," she pointed.

"Ah, fine choice. Will you be paying cash or credit card?"

"Credit card, please."

"Right. Would you like it wrapped?" She nodded in response. L probably didn't know it, but she had a good bit of money. From the time she was 13 she'd been taking photos. Why not sell them to calendar companies?

She paid for the gift and hurried back outside to catch the bus. L's class was over. She needed to beat him back. _'Maybe L's right. Going to a public dance is a bad idea,' _she thought more clearly. It was time to forget about the dance, once and for all.

Something struck her odd when she took her seat in a vacant spot on the bus. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Stiffly she glanced around. There was a suspicious looking man sitting on the opposite side of the bus, three seats behind her. He was wearing a hooded jacket and sunglasses, which concealed most of his face, but she caught him looking in her direction out of the corner of her eye. It was only a ten minute ride to campus.

When the bus finally stopped, both of them stood to get off. She felt nervous as her body neared the door and when she finally stepped off the bus she was in a full blown panic. Her pace was quick as she walked with her eyes continuously glancing at her follower. The person had a scar on their face.

"Slow down, Athena," L laughed as she walked right into him. "Ah, uh, Ryuzaki. I'm sorry," she apologized. The boy who had been following her walked diagonally from them, giving Athena a grin before disappearing behind a building.

"Is something wrong?" L asked her. "Oh, no. Just cold. Aren't you?" She played it off. _'With people like that lurking around maybe I shouldn't go to the ball. Who was he?'_

"Come on. Let's go home," he held her hand as she fell into step beside him. She stared at their cupped hands. This was the first romantic thing he'd ever done. Her heart skipped a beat a few times as she dared to intertwine their fingers. He silently accepted this as they continued on their way. "Did you just get out of class?" She asked, even though her thoughts were still on the mysterious man.

"Sorta," he smiled. "You've been out of class for a while. Where've you been?"

"Uh," she wanted to lie. "I took a bus to the mall."

"Athena," he signed.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," she apologized. After reaching their apartment he replied, "No. Get some sleep." Athena watched him vanish inside their bedroom.

"What the?" she mumbled under her breath. It was very clear that something was wrong with him. "L?" she called.

He sat perched on the bed with his back against the headboard and knees drawn to his chest. He was biting his fingernails.

"L?" she sat down in front of him. "What's going on? You're acting so weird." L let his eyes catch her gaze. She was sincerely worried about him. "I have a gift for you," he withdrew a box from under his pillow, a smug smile on his face.

"L!" she hit him playfully on the leg. "I thought you were having a mental breakdown or something!"

"I'm not very good with girls; I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Just, next time, be less secretive," she searched for the right wording. It was true. He went about things so strangely when it came to her.

"Right, now open your present. I wrapped it myself." She smiled at the wrapping. It was done as though a five year old had done it. A laugh escaped her. When she opened the box she was awestruck.

"L, I thought-"

"It's beyond my understanding as to why, but girls enjoy these dance things." The item in front of her was a thin strapped dress. "I asked a woman at the store to help with the entire outfit. The shoes are in the closet. I hope you like it."

"L, are you sure?" She continued to gawk. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Oh! Thank you!" she threw her arms around his neck suddenly.

"You're welcome," he hugged her back. "But remember, we still have to be careful." She nodded before standing. With the dress held to her front, she spun around happily; the earlier situation only a distant worry.

After trying the dress on to make sure if fit, which it did, she tossed her pajama's on for bed. When she emerged from the bathroom she found L sitting on the bed still. She crawled underneath the covers while giving him a funny look. "Now what's up?"

He fidgeted uncomfortably. "What is it?" she pressed. He cleared his throat. "Can I-would it be improper to-" he couldn't get the words out.

"It's okay. Say what's on your mind," she encouraged. 'He's so good at being an investigator, but when it comes to me, he's such a clam,' she mentally noted.

"Can I- can I sleep with you tonight?" Athena laughed, patting the mattress for him to lie down. "Of course. It's your bed too. You can sleep here whenever you want. We can share it together. Just like when we were little."

L was puzzled for a moment as he lied down beside her. Maybe she was referring to…

_**It was another rainy day at Wammy's house, he remembered. He, Athena, Mello and Near had joined forces to build the ultimate fort. He was 11 years old at the time, which meant both Athena and Mello were 9 and Near was 7. They tore the mattress from L's bed and set it on the floor. Elaborately, they used the countless books to make towers on each corner of the mattress. After resting the box spring upright against two of the book structured pillars on one of the shorter ends, they set a piece of the shelving from the bookcases on the longer sides, running from the top of the stacks of books. The two pieces of wood made the support for the sheets that were tossed over to create a canopy. When it was finished Mello and Near didn't even get to enjoy it. **_

"_**Mello and Near," Watari had called for them. "Your I.Q. testers are here." With crestfallen expressions they sulked their way out of L's room. "Don't destroy the place, you two," were Watari's departing words to Athena and L. **_

_**It was like a miniature castle in Athena's eyes. **_

"_**Wow, L!" she beamed. **_

"_**We can share it together," he smiled back. His dark eyes met her bright blue ones in a childish agreement. As the two of them fell back first on the mattress, they laughed. **_

"_**Do you think it'll always be like this?" she asked quietly. "What do you mean?" he'd questioned. "I mean, do you think we'll always be friends?" she restated.**_

_**L blushed at this. His childhood crush was lying beside him asking a two sided question. L knew she wasn't gifted, but at the same time, she was very intelligent. He wasn't sure if she meant 'will we hate each other in the future or will we be something more than friends in the future'. The 11 year old L chose his answer carefully.**_

"_**I think we'll be friends as long as we chose to be. What do you think?"**_

"_**I think," she frowned, "you're going to marry Misa Misa and forget all about me."**_

"_**What?" he said in shock. "How'd you know I like Misa Misa? And that is not true!"**_

_**She scrambled to her feet like she was on fire. "You like Misa Misa, you like Misa Misa!" she chanted with a laugh. L chased after her. "Haha!" she ran for it. **_

_**The day after that was the day he left with Watari on an investigation in Eastern Europe.**_

L let the memory pass with a smile on his face.

"Thinking about Misa Misa?" she rested her head on his chest.

"Why do you insist on bringing her up? You know that's never going to happen," he frowned.

"So, you do want that to happen?" she tilted her head up to look at him.

"That's not true. I already have someone, I think," he mumbled, his eyes cast towards the nightstand beside him. "L, when we go back home and you complete your 3,000 cases, do you think-"

"I've put a lot of thought into it," he interrupted. "But for now, I just want to make sure you're going to be okay."

"And I will be, thanks to you, but you need to experience things and live life without me dragging you down."

"Athena, you're not a burden to me. I do the things I do for you because I chose too. I never knew what happened to you until recently, so believe me when I say that I don't do these things out of pity. I-I really care about your wellbeing."

"I just feel like I'm holding you back all of the time," she whispered. L shook his head, "Not even close. Now, let's get some sleep, we've got a big night ahead of us tomorrow."

Returning her head to his chest, she curled her arm around his waist. "I feel so protected when I'm with you," she finished with a sleepy sigh. She could hear his heart beating against his ribs and quickly she fell asleep to the rhythm it created.

L took the chance to cherish the moment. He felt so nervous around her during moments like this. He always did. And it wasn't just because she was a girl. He'd been around women and teenage girls while on other cases. It was just around her. He'd start to sweat unexpectantly and his brain would seem foggy, his thoughts unclear, but most of all, his heart raced. He felt like he knew what it was for sure; he just couldn't announce it yet…if he could ever announce it.


End file.
